"A good quality game, with a few problems"

Shadow Madness. Ah, yes, This game has been attacked so many times, and I've come to its defense so
many times, so as my Second Review, I'm going to review this game, its good points, and its downfalls.
Graphics-6/10
While the graphics to this game, are not the best in the World, though Some of the graphics are really
nice, the overworld map is the most unique map i have ever seen, as it is a ACTUAL map, complete down
to the folds, and map drawings (Like seeing a drawing of a dragon, or of a sea monster) i thought this was
a very unique and bold thing to do, very creative and innovative in my book. The characters and enemies
are very blocky and Polygonal though, i think they tried to Emulate Final Fantasy Seven here, although
they could of done a much better job with it.. the characters though are Visible and you can define them.
Sound and Music 8/10
The Sounds to the game are average, You hear a sword Clang for a sword attack, a bow being shot, to
growls of monsters and fangs being crunched. They could of done better here, but they DO get the job
done, they are just average at best.. but they do get the job done.
The Music of the Game is Very well done. Very dark and very moody. A lot of it has a great beat, and
they reel you in the story, good overworld walking music too, Some of the music is real quality, and well
done, the fighting music, they did something real cool and innovative here, instead of just one battle
theme, you get like 4 or 5 Different battle songs, all of which are well composed and are really well done
for fighting.
Gameplay 4/10
Now this is where the little game falters, i have to admit here. Where controller control is real good (3
face buttons on the controller brings up a different Menu, for real quick access, and of course there is the
primary menu where you can bring up with the select button. Thats cool and stuff. But, when you play the
game, you collect so many unnecessary items. (Even though the Hint book says you can sell these items at
shops, the shops are so far away, (Meaning, if you get a item that has no purpose near Karillon, the store
where you can sell the item for more is probably in Wyldren or a city in Arkose you won't see for a while)
This wouldn't bother me so much, but, you can only hold 30 items and weapons, which gets really
annoying Combat in the game.. This game would of gotten a 9 if the combat was so much harder. The
game is so easy. The enemies don't have that many hit points, you can go through combat real quickly. If
the Enemies had one more digit of hit points,(I.E. If a enemy had 300 HPs, the game would of been more
challenging if the enemy had 3000 HP.) The shining point to the Gameplay though is when you walk on
the overworld map, you can hear the enemy Growl, and if you hit The L2 and R2 Buttons, you can avoid
the enemy attack like 6 times out of 10, its real useful.
Story/plot/dialogue 10/10
THIS GAME HAS THE BEST DIALOGUE I HAVE EVER SEEN! Its so hilarious. This game WAS
made by Americans and you can tell. Like the one part of the game, Your in a bog maze and 3 of the
characters are talking, Xero,(I'll get to the Characters in a Second) and Clemett were talking about this
maze, Clemett was saying how the First Bog Maze sank into the swamp, and then they rebuilt it, but it
also sank into the swamp and Xero Said how that reminded him of a Wedding..(If you have ever saw
Monty Python and the holy grail, you will know what i'm talking about) I laughed for a good minute
there, thats just the tip of the iceberg, this whole game is funny. The story is pretty good too. Its basically
the same save the world story, but, instead of the world being Destroyed by a mass force, the world is
getting destroyed by a mass plague called a ''Shadow Madness'' Where the people go crazy, and it goes
into a invasion scheme.. The story is somewhat typical, but its not, its sort of hard to describe. Now onto
the Characters.
Stinger- Your typical Hero. Brash, brooding, a somewhat jerk to everyone, picks fights with people, all in
all your typical male hero.
Windleaf- The exact opposite of Stinger, Female, Quiet, Calm, nice to everyone, Training to be a wizard,
the normal Main Female RPG Character
Now onto the more ''Unique'' Characters
Harv-5 A farming robot with a real unique personality, sometimes logical, sometimes more brash than
stinger, Stinger and Harv get into many a fight, and the end result is Usually Funny.
Xero Von Moon- A floating head. Thats right a floating head. He lost his body over 600 years ago, and
maintains life on a floating platform, he is what they called a ''Mage Warrior'' Sharp wit, but yet of a old
tongue. One of the most Unique RPG characters i have ever witnessed
Clemett- A gadgeteer, a race of Tinkers, who are normally pacifistic, and controlled, Clemett is not your
Average Gadgeteer, He is violent, uncontrollable and loves a good fight, Him and Xero Team up on many
occasion.
Jirina- Probably my least favorite Character you find her on Wyldern, the underworld of Arkose, you find
her fighting to free her people The Org from the Hands of Damon Hokum the bad guy. She reminds me of
a Klingon really, honorable, wanting to fight at the drop of a hat. She is okay, but.. somewhat falls into a
typical RPG character.
One more thing before I sum this up and thats the 2 worlds, Arkose and Wyldern, they are very different,
each with 2 Different races and personalities. The worlds cover each disc, and they are fairly big..
Overall 7/10
This game while Flawed in some parts, is still a real quality game and very fun, play it for the story and
dialogue alone, its probably only 20 dollars now. Pick it up. Its worth 20 or so hours of your life.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/00, Updated 04/14/00